Sellafield
Sellafield Ltd is a UK government-owned entity that operates Britain's largest nuclear site in Cumbria, England, managing the decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities, radioactive waste retrieval and treatment, and site infrastructure modernization on behalf of the UK government.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1947
- HeadquartersWales, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sellafield does
Sellafield Ltd is a UK government-owned entity that operates the largest nuclear site in Britain, located in Cumbria, England, and is the central counterparty for the UK's nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management program. Its operational remit covers decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities, retrieval and treatment of radioactive waste, environmental remediation of contaminated land, demolition of redundant structures, and modernization of site utility infrastructure, including a £2.9 billion long-term regeneration partnership that pairs decommissioning with community and sustainability objectives. Sellafield does not sell commercial products; instead, it operates as a public-sector site operator funded by the UK government, procuring specialist services from a small set of large engineering and construction partners (AtkinsRéalis, Amentum, Costain, HOCHTIEF, Morgan Sindall) through long-dated framework agreements of up to 15 years.
Technically, the company's deployed capabilities centre on nuclear decommissioning engineering, radioactive waste management, and radiation monitoring in hazardous environments. A notable technology initiative is the February 2026 first trial of Boston Dynamics' Spot quadruped robot equipped with a custom swabbing tool, used to perform surface swabs and radiation surveys in areas unsafe for personnel, signalling a shift toward robotic reduction of human dose exposure. The firm is also modernizing its enterprise stack, planning migration from legacy SAP to cloud-based ERP. The technology footprint is operational rather than productized: there are no commercial software products, no public or partner-facing APIs, no app distribution, and no disclosed patents or proprietary software assets in the input data.
The business model is government-funded, with operating budget allocated by the UK government (via the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) to deliver mandated clean-up outcomes. Sellafield acts as a monopsony buyer in the UK decommissioning services market, awarding multi-year framework contracts via competitive procurement. Recent framework ceilings disclosed in the input total roughly £7.9 billion across AtkinsRéalis (£4.6B), Amentum (£1.4B), Costain ($1.33B), and HOCHTIEF (£595M). Sellafield's GTM motion is therefore best characterized as enterprise field sales in reverse: long-dated, competitively tendered frameworks targeted at firms with specialized nuclear decommissioning, remediation, and waste-retrieval capabilities. Its served customer base is functionally a single sovereign buyer, and the procurement counterparty base is concentrated among a handful of large UK and international engineering groups.
Sellafield firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sellafield
- Legal name
- Sellafield Ltd
- Website
- https://gov.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1947
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Sellafield Ltd is a UK government-owned entity that operates Britain's largest nuclear site in Cumbria, England, managing the decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities, radioactive waste retrieval and treatment, and site infrastructure modernization on behalf of the UK government.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sellafield industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nuclear Decommissioning Services
- NAICS
- Remediation Services (562910), Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)
- SIC
- Hazardous Waste Management (4955)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Nuclear Plant Decommissioning & Site Restoration (EUACADAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Decontamination & Dismantling (D&D) of Nuclear Facilities (EUAKAFAB), Demolition, Segmentation & Heavy Lift/Remote Handling (EUAKAFAD), Radioactive Waste Processing, Packaging & On-site Interim Storage (Decommissioning Waste) (EUAKAFAE), Nuclear Waste Management & Geological Disposal (EUACADAM), Facility Deactivation, Defueling Support & Transition to Decommissioning (EUAKAFAH)
Keywords
Where Sellafield is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wales
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sellafield business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Nuclear Decommissioning Services: Sellafield Ltd operates as a UK government-owned nuclear site managing the decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities. Revenue is derived from government funding allocated for nuclear decommissioning and waste management activities at the Sellafield site in Cumbria.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Sellafield product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sellafield Ltd operates the UK's largest nuclear decommissioning site in Cumbria, England, managing the safe decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities and the retrieval, treatment, and long-term management of radioactive waste. Core activities include waste retrieval from legacy ponds and silos, contaminated land remediation, demolition of redundant nuclear structures, and infrastructure modernization, supported by robotic radiation monitoring technologies such as the Spot quadruped with integrated swabbing tools.
Product overview
Sellafield Ltd operates the UK's largest nuclear site in Cumbria, managing the decommissioning and cleanup of historic nuclear facilities. The organization does not offer commercial software products. Its operational activities include nuclear decommissioning, radioactive waste management, retrievals of waste from legacy facilities, remediation of contaminated land, demolition of redundant structures, and infrastructure development. Sellafield also deploys robotic technologies, including Spot by Boston Dynamics, for hazardous environment monitoring and radiation surveys to support safer decommissioning operations and reduce human exposure to radiation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Nuclear Decommissioning Services Safe decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, including remediation, demolition of redundant structures, and management of contaminated land. Delivered to the UK government and partner engineering contractors.
- Radioactive Waste Management and Retrieval Retrieval, treatment, and long-term storage of radioactive waste from legacy ponds and silos on the Sellafield site, including handling of high-hazard legacy wastes.
- Robotic Radiation Monitoring (Spot with Swabbing Tool) Deployment of the Boston Dynamics Spot quadruped robot equipped with a swabbing tool to perform surface swabs and radiation surveys in hazardous nuclear areas, reducing human exposure during decommissioning operations.
- Site Infrastructure Development and Regeneration Long-term site infrastructure modernisation and regeneration at the Sellafield nuclear site, including refurbishment and replacement of utility distribution systems, delivered alongside decommissioning operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Successfully trialed Spot robot with swabbing tool for radiation monitoring in February 2026
Companies that use Sellafield
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sellafield technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Sellafield partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- AtkinsRéalis Group Inc.coreAtkinsRéalis was appointed to a 15-year framework for nuclear decommissioning and waste management activities at the Sellafield site. The contract encompasses remediation, waste retrievals, technical services, and demolition with a total maximum value of £4.6 billion and an initial duration of nine years with an extension option.
- AmentumcoreAmentum secured positions on a multi-billion pound framework for decommissioning work at the Sellafield nuclear site. The contract's estimated value for Amentum's share is up to £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion USD).
- HOCHTIEF (UK) ConstructioncoreHOCHTIEF was awarded a framework contract worth up to £595 million for infrastructure development at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, part of a £2.9 billion long-term partnership. The project supports nuclear decommissioning and operations while emphasizing sustainability, safety, and community growth.
- CostaincoreConstruction engineering firm Costain was selected as a contractor by Sellafield Ltd, with a contract valued at up to $1.33 billion. The nine-year project involves refurbishing and replacing utility distribution systems to support Sellafield's decommissioning efforts, with possible extension.
- Morgan SindallminorMorgan Sindall is involved in a project at the Sellafield nuclear site alongside Costain and Hochtief, providing construction and civil engineering services as part of the broader decommissioning effort.
- Hochtief AGminorHochtief AG was awarded a contract supporting nuclear operations and decommissioning at Sellafield. The contract signifies ongoing work in nuclear decommissioning activities in the UK.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Sellafield competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Bechtel: US-based engineering, procurement, and construction company with extensive nuclear and environmental remediation work for the US Department of Energy; comparable as a major incumbent in large-scale nuclear site cleanup.
- Jacobs: Global professional services and nuclear services firm supporting DOE, Sellafield, and other nuclear clean-up programs; comparable as a broad incumbent in nuclear engineering, decommissioning, and environmental remediation.
- Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA): UK government body that owns Sellafield Ltd and oversees decommissioning of all UK public-sector nuclear sites; directly comparable as the parent/strategic counterparty and operator of multiple nuclear clean-up programs including Sellafield.
- Orano: French nuclear cycle company providing decommissioning, waste management, and nuclear site cleanup services; comparable as a major European operator of nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste services.
Direct peers
- Amentum: US-based engineering and nuclear services firm appointed to the Sellafield framework (£1.4B share) and a leading provider of nuclear decommissioning services to US DOE sites; directly comparable as a Tier-1 nuclear decommissioning contractor.
- ENRESA: Spain's state-owned nuclear waste and decommissioning agency, responsible for the cleanup of Spanish nuclear plants; directly comparable as a state-owned entity managing radioactive waste management and decommissioning of legacy facilities.
- AtkinsRéalis: Canadian engineering firm that secured the £4.6B 15-year Sellafield framework and is a global nuclear services provider; directly comparable as a Tier-1 nuclear engineering services partner.
- Andra: France's national radioactive waste management agency, tasked with long-term disposal of French nuclear waste including a deep geological repository; directly comparable in mission, state ownership model, and regulatory scope.
- Babcock International: UK-headquartered engineering firm with significant nuclear decommissioning and site cleanup operations supporting the UK MOD and NDA estate; directly comparable as a UK nuclear services provider with similar mission.
- NWS (Nuclear Waste Services, UK): UK NDA subsidiary managing the country's low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste, including a planned Geological Disposal Facility; directly comparable as a UK state-owned nuclear waste management entity.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Sellafield social profiles
Digital presenceSellafield financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sellafield leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sellafield funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sellafield M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sellafield
What does Sellafield do?
Sellafield Ltd operates the UK's largest nuclear decommissioning site in Cumbria, England, managing the safe decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities and the retrieval, treatment, and long-term management of radioactive waste. Core activities include waste retrieval from legacy ponds and silos, contaminated land remediation, demolition of redundant nuclear structures, and infrastructure modernization, supported by robotic radiation monitoring technologies such as the Spot quadruped with integrated swabbing tools.
Is Sellafield a public or private company?
Sellafield is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Sellafield founded?
Sellafield was founded in 1947. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Sellafield based?
Sellafield is headquartered in Wales, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Sellafield make money?
One revenue line is on record: nuclear Decommissioning Services.
Who are Sellafield's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Bechtel, Jacobs, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Orano. Direct peers are Amentum, ENRESA, AtkinsRéalis, Andra, Babcock International and NWS (Nuclear Waste Services, UK).
Does Sellafield have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sellafield.
What industry is Sellafield in?
Sellafield's product category is Nuclear Decommissioning Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUACADAJ, Nuclear Plant Decommissioning & Site Restoration, with a secondary code of EUAKAFAB, Decontamination & Dismantling (D&D) of Nuclear Facilities. Its NAICS code is 562910 and its SIC code is 4955.